New Inspection Tool From KLA-Tencor Captures Broadest Range of Defects for Rapid, Cost-Effective and Accurate Wafer and Tool Dispositioning
New Viper 2435 system enables swift corrective action with prompt go/no-go

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SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To help 300-mm
chipmakers achieve rapid, accurate wafer and process tool dispositioning
across multiple process modules, KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC) today unveiled the
Viper 2435 automated dispositioning system. The Viper 2435 captures the
broadest range of critical defects while filtering out nuisance, enabling it
to deliver quick go/no-go indicators that allow chipmakers to take corrective
action before excursions become costly yield problems. Designed to provide
high dispositioning accuracy at high throughput, the Viper 2435 is a
production-worthy solution with a 67 percent lower cost of ownership than
manual inspection. Available as a field upgrade from earlier Viper 2430
systems, the Viper 2435 is part of a portfolio of inspection, review and
analysis products from KLA-Tencor that work together to deliver the lowest
overall cost of inspection to fabs worldwide.
As the volume of semiconductor product moving through 300-mm fabs
continues to increase, process- and tool-induced excursions carry a greater
yield impact. As a result, higher sampling rates are required to capture
excursions early in the process, before they cause production problems
downstream or, worse, lead to yield loss. The ability to quickly disposition
wafers and process tools enables fabs to take swift corrective actions:
reworking or scrapping a wafer, and resolving any process module or process
tool problems. Since the defect types that cause yield loss vary widely by
process module, using an inspector designed to capture one or two specific
defect types is not the best approach for dispositioning systems. They must
be capable of detecting a broad range of defects-including unexpected defect
types-from scanner- and track-induced defects in lithography, to polisher-
induced defects in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) and pattern failure
at etch.
KLA-Tencor's new Viper 2435 addresses these cost- and quality-related
challenges by providing the broadest capture of critical defect types in the
industry, at sampling rates of up to 100 wafers per hour. Using the Viper
2435 at the lithography, CMP, etch and films modules, a fab can quickly flag
wafers having killer defects that require corrective action, while bypassing
wafers having nuisance defects that simply consume production time. Since the
tool is integrated with KLA-Tencor's Klarity(R) Defect data management
software, fabs can implement a streamlined, automated yield and root-cause
analysis strategy that enables faster time from data to decisions. Its
process-node independence, along with a roadmap for continued platform
development, make the Viper 2435 a highly extendible disposition solution as
fabs move to smaller design rules and new materials.
Experience yields best-of-breed dispositioning solution
An evolutionary progression from the company's widely adopted Viper 2430
platform, the Viper 2435 was designed with several enhancements to boost its
capabilities:
-- Simultaneous brightfield and darkfield inspection channels capture the
broadest range of defect types, and enable high throughput
-- A user-friendly interface allows operators to generate robust, stable
recipes in minutes
-- Full factory automation enables rapid integration into production
-- Advanced discrimination algorithms, along with adaptive thresholding
techniques, strengthen the tool's nuisance suppression capabilities
-- Full frontside, edge damage, and optional backside inspection provide
extended wafer coverage
-- New recipe optimization tools, a wafer-less setup capability, and
improved data review tools augment the system's production-worthiness
"Our customers today increasingly face the combined impact of shorter
product lifecycles and rapidly eroding price points within each lifecycle.
Consequently, the economics of speed -- getting to market more quickly at high
volume and high yield -- have become the primary profitability driver," said
Mike Kirk, group vice president of KLA-Tencor's Wafer Inspection Group. "As
they ramp new processes into production, our customers need quick access to
the right tools to reach their device performance and yield goals. The Viper
2435's demonstrated ability to accurately and rapidly disposition process
tools and wafers can fully support their high-volume manufacturing
requirements."
The Viper 2435 is currently shipping in volume production. KLA-Tencor
will showcase its latest yield management and process control products,
including the Viper 2435, at SPIE Microlithography 2006 from Feb. 21 to Feb.
22 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, Calif.
About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and
process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related
industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company has sales and
service offices around the world. An S&P 500 company, KLA-Tencor is traded on
the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC. Additional information
about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.kla-tencor.com
Klarity is a registered trademark of KLA-Tencor.